Magic in the Sky
by Molly4
Summary: Gary\Mariss romance. A tad fluffy. R


Magic in the Sky  
  
A\N This is a short bit of Gary\Marissa romance. I started writing it when I was 10, and found it about a month ago, and decided to finish it up. This is my first EE fanfic posted here, so please no flames! There are no spoilers, I own nothing, and I hope you enjoy this. All characters belong to CBS and Sony TriStar. :)  
  
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Gary Hobson trudged homeward, his last save complete, and his watch reading just after midnight. He figured he'd take a quick shower once he got home, and then hit the sack. He was bushed. Stifling a yawn, he continued his walk through the park, thinking about his life. Not that he had one. Just the same old routine. Get up, save lives, go to bed, do the same thing the next day. Of course, the type of work he did always varied, (You never knew what kind of idiotic stunt somebody was going to pull.) but it all seemed the same to him.  
  
Hearing a small sigh, Gary turned his head slightly in the direction of a park bench. His eyes widened. Marissa. She sat on the bench, her guide dog, Reily, at her feet.  
  
Marissa instantly sat up straight, and her face perked up as she heard Gary approach. She's know the sound of his old sneakers hitting the pavement anywhere.   
  
"Gary...hi."  
  
"What are you doing here?" Gary asked, sitting down beside her, so close she could smell his cologne. Marissa smiled. He smelled nice.  
  
"I could ask you the same thing," was Marissa's reply.  
  
"Just finished a save., now I'm done for the night. A hysterical mother thought her child was kidnapped. In reality, he was asleep in his treehouse." Gary paused, and jammed his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. "It's past midnight, you know?"  
  
"I know," Marissa said, nodding. "Maybe I just came to look at the stars," she added, a twinkle in her chocolate brown eyes.  
  
Gary chuckled.  
  
"Shhhh, do you hear that?" Marissa asked, softly.  
  
"Hear what?" Gary asked, straining his ears, but still unable to hear anything but the El train rumble softly by.  
  
"It sounds like....it sounds like.....it sounds like a rusty wheel." A look of mock surprise crossed over Marissa's face. "Why Gary Hobson, are you smiling?"  
  
"Guilty," Gary confessed, laughing. It had been a long time since he had last laughed.  
  
"Long day, huh?" Marissa asked.  
  
"You bet." Gary stared up at the sky. The stars shone brightly, and he sighed. "The stars really do look beautiful tonight." He gave Marissa's hand a friendly squeeze. "I wish you could see them."  
  
Mariss looked thoughtful. "I think it's better that I can't. That makes the magic in them twice as strong."  
  
"Yeah, I guess it does," Gary agreed, a dreamy look crossing over his green eyes. "You know, when I was a little kid, my dad would take me camping. He'd bought this beautiful telescope, and we'd look at the stars together. Dad never made me learn all the names of the starsm though. He used to say...well, he used to say that knowing their names would take all the magic out of naming them yourself. He used to say that every child deserved a star." Gary glanced up. "The Gary Hobson Star is out there....somewhere."  
  
Marissa smiled. "I guess that means my star is somewhere out there too. Hmmm...I never knew your father to be a philosopher like that."  
  
Gary chuckled. "Well I wouldn't go that far. Dad had the same theory about women. Good from afar, but once you learn their names and every other little detail about them, run the other way." Gary shook his head.  
  
Marissa grinned. "Your father is quite a character, isn't he? You must have had an interesting childhood."  
  
"Yeah," Gary agreed, "interesting, waiting to see how long it would take my mom to go nuts putting up with the stunts my father pulled. It was like having an immature older brother. He's a good guy, though. He never hesitated to hug me, or kiss me, or tell me he loved me, like some fathers did. Come to think of it, both my parents are pretty affectionate."  
  
"My mom was like that," Marissa told him quietly.  
  
"You talk a lot about your mom," Gary commented, "but I've never heard you say anything about your father."  
  
"He died when I was 12. Lung cancer."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't be. You know I hate sorry."  
  
"Sorry...I uh, mean, ummmm...."  
  
"Don't worry Gary, I know what you mean." A genuine smile crossed over Marissa's lips. "He was a nice man, loved to sing. My mom says I got my talent all from him. He used to tell me I could sing like an angel. Before he died, he made me promise not to cry for him."  
  
There was a long stretch of silence before Gary finally spoke again.  
  
"Did you?" He asked. "Cry for him?"  
  
"What could I do? I was a 12-year old blind girl, who just lost her papa. Of course I cried. I apologized later, but I still wonder if he ever forgave me."  
  
"Of course he did," Gary insisted. "How could a man stay mad at a beautiful, intelligent, funny woman like you?"  
  
Marissa smiled, and blushed. "I can think of plenty of ways." She shivered.  
  
"Are you cold? Do you want my jacket?"  
  
"That's okay. I'm not cold. Just thinking about things."  
  
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Gary scanned Marissa's face, and noticed a single tear trailing down her cheek. With a gentle thumb, he swept it away.  
  
"You're a good man, Gary Hobson," Marissa whispered, smiling greatfully.  
  
"Not without you, I'm not," Gary replied softly.  
  
"I really have to be going," Marissa said abruptly, picking up her purse.  
  
"Marissa, wait."  
  
"Yes, Gary?"  
  
"I-I've been thinking, well, I've been thinking about it, and wondering why, well, wondering why we never get to talk anymore. This must be um, it must be the first time we had a full, had a full conversation in weeks." Gary scratched the back of his neck nervously, and looked at Marissa, who sighed.  
  
"I guess we've both just been busy lately. You've got the paper, and I've got to run some bum's bar for him, because he's too lazy to do it himself," she teased gently.  
  
"Oh, yeah? Well that bum who owns the bar better be smart, and never let you go." Gary's voice dropped. "I bet you mean more to him than you'll ever know."  
  
"Likewise," Marissa said, in almost a whisper.  
  
Slowly, hesitantly, Gary leaned his head in towards Marissa. To his great surprise, she sensed his movement, and met him halfway in a tender kiss. Each felt comfortable in their warm embrace, and they both enjoyed every second of it.  
  
Marissa pulled away suddenly, ending their moment of passion.  
  
"What's wrong?" Gary asked, running his hand down her arm in a gentle caress.   
  
"I love you, Gary, but I don't know if I can do this," Marissa explained, tears brimming in her eyes. "How do I know that when you wake up tomorrow, you'll feel the same way that you do now? Or how about in two weeks? Two months? Two years? I can't take that kind of pain, Gary."  
  
"Marissa...you have to trust me," Gary pleaded softly, squeezing her hand tenderly. "I would never, ever, do anything to hurt you." He paused. "As long as there are stars in the sky, I will feel the same way that I feel tonight. And that's madly in love with the girl of my dreams."   
  
Marissa's smile widened, and the couple kissed again, under the beautiful Chicago sky.  
  
And the stars shone a little brighter that night, as they watched over the young couple, symbolizing their pact of love the two made for each other that night.  
  
~finis~  
  
Please read and review, and no flames please!  
  
  



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